The UNESCO World Heritage city of Évora, Portugal. Bringing
together civic leaders to discuss urban conservation issues, the
GCI is working with the Organization of World Heritage Cities (OWHC)
and the city of Évora to host the September 1997 Fourth International
OWHC Symposium, "Tourism and World Heritage Cities: Challenges
and Opportunities." Photo: Courtesy the city of Évora.

Conserving Historic Centers: More Than Meets the Eye Historic centers are collections of vestiges of the past—buildings, monuments, lanes, and parks that resonate with memory and tradition. But unlike museums—where the past is displayed but not touched—historic centers are places where life continues to be lived. To conserve a historic community poses a challenge unequaled in cultural heritage conservation—a challenge that goes beyond conserving single buildings or individual objects. It is conservation that is as much about people and their ways of life as it is about bricks and mortar.

The Pearl of Great Price: A Conversation with Anil Rao and David De Souza
The city of Mumbai (formerly Bombay) in India is the site of one of a series of projects organized by the GCI to raise public awareness of landmarks and the importance of preserving them (see "Landmarks," below). The project leader and field director of Picture Mumbai talk about the project's development, the nature of landmarks, and the preservation of culture and hope in the life of their city.

Face To Face with Landmarks
What is the rationale for conservation in a world driven by change? What is the value of place and permanence to a mobile citizenry with mixed ethnic and cultural identities and cross-historical memories? How should conservation preserve the past while helping to create the future? The GCI's Landmarks Campaign is a search for answers to these questions and an experiment in thinking about the future of conservation through fresh perspectives.

The Conservation of Mosaics In Situ
The goal of the Sixth Conference of the Internaional Committee for the Conservation of Mosaics was to encourage dialogue on the practical aspects of mosaic conservation in situ. Two keynote addresses given at the October 1996 conference, held in Cyprus, are excerpted here. The first, by Roberto Nardi, examines the evolution in thinking regarding the treatment of mosaics. The second, by Catherine Sease, argues for conservation planning as part of archaeological excavations.